Two Great Books!

As you can see, I've got two excellent books on the go right now, which have been a blessing to read over the Christmas holidays. The first one by Richard Foster is an excellent overview of what he calls the great "Christian traditions" that have been in the forefront of what God has been doing over the last two thousand years. Specifically, he examines the importance of contemplative prayer, holiness, the charismatic gifts, social justice, the importance of the Word, and the presence of Christ in our daily lives (which he calls the Incarnational Tradition). It's a great read! An interesting point in the Introduction sums up what Foster is after: "today our sovereign God is drawing many streams together that heretofore have been separated from one another. It is a little like the Mississippi River, which gains strength and volume as the Ohio and the Missouri and many other rivers flow into it."

The second book by Charles Swindoll is an interesting commentary on the book of Job in the Old Testament. His sub-title is Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance. An interesting quote is found on page 8 where Swindoll writes, "When we're not aware of it, God is carrying out a plan that would amaze us and, on occasion, shock us. He is permitting things to get under way that we would never expected." Certainly this is true for all of us. In His wisdom, God is working behind the scenes to achieve things in our lives that we might not have chosen to be involved in if we knew what they would be like. But He knows, because He has planned them! Whether we are aware of it or not, "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

Both books can be picked up with a good discount (as you can see from their front covers) from www.amazon.ca Enjoy!!!